Israeli container line Zim has agreed 12-year charters for 10 dual-fuel newbuildings ordered by Seaspan Corp in South Korea.
Seaspan, the shipowning unit of New York-listed Atlas Corp, revealed on Friday that it had contracted the LNG-powered, 15,000-teu units at Samsung Heavy Industries.
They will deliver from the first half of 2023 into January 2024.
The $1bn-plus order marks a first investment in LNG-fuelled ships for Seaspan.
Opportunities
Chief executive Bing Chen said: "We are expanding the scope of our customer solutions by elevating our focus on lowering the impact of emissions, which will result from the adoption and addition of LNG-powered vessels to our fleet."
He said a recently concluded $200m sustainability-linked bond sale "parallels" the fleet expansion.
"These transactions clearly demonstrate our ability to seize opportunities to develop industry-leading customer solutions and our commitment for quality growth backed by long-term committed partnerships," Chen added.
Additional borrowing will be needed to fund the order, which is the latest in a spree at yards that has seen 17 vessels added since December.
Milestone transaction
Seaspan's operational fleet consisted of 127 ships as of 30 September. Contracted revenue is $4.1bn.
Seaspan said it continues to focus on its core 9,000-teu to 15,000-teu size.
Zim, fresh from its New York initial public offering, said it is taking the ships to meet market demand in the Asia-US East Coast trade.
Zim is a leading player in the growing trade, with an estimated market share of 9%.
Chief executive Eli Glickman described the deal as a milestone.
"Investing in LNG-fuelled 'green' vessels demonstrates our continued commitment and leadership in addressing environmental issues related to our industry, meeting customer demand to reduce CO2 emissions, helping to preserve clean air and reducing our carbon footprint."
Earlier this month, Seaspan broke new ground with an order for its largest containerships to date.
It signed a contract with Yangzijiang Shipbuilding in China for two 24,000-teu boxships to be delivered in the first half of 2023.
TradeWinds reported that the orders were placed on the back of an 18-year charter with Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC), which also fixed two sisterships ordered at the yard by China Development Bank Financial Leasing.
TradeWinds is told that MSC has chartered 10 ultra-large containership newbuildings to be constructed at Chinese shipyards from three separate companies.
MSC has not commented.
